Sunday, January 16, 2011

Wake Up Call

I just found out that the little soccer league Jackson was in last fall made a schedule change for spring. His age group will play on Wednesday nights now instead of Monday. We are already having to choose between church and sports at four years old! Ha! Oh well. They didn't even have real games at his level and I had been wondering if soccer would be too much for us this spring anyway.

I'd heard about a little reading program for pre-kindergarteners in our area and I decided we would do that instead. (Lucky boy, right?) I got Jackson signed up and then I was on a roll! I looked up when kindergarten registration is...and then the first day of school. Lord, help me. I was getting tears in my eyes just looking at the school calendar. This is really going to happen.

Then I realized that we forgot to consider Jackson's school schedule in a little weekend trip to Missouri that we planned for next October. Eek! Thankfully we had not booked our flights. That just gave Curtis and me a big wake up call. We're soon to be owned by the school calendar. The daily and monthly structure is going to be a big change for our family. Our schedule is kind of backwards compared to a lot of other families. We're used to being out and about in the evenings and coming home after all the other houses on the street are dark and quiet.

In other news, tonight the kids were playing in the gameroom upstairs and Jackson yelled down to us, "You need to change Annabeth's diaper! I don't like her to stink!" Ha!

Later when I was laying my girl in her crib, she folded her hands so we could pray. As usual, I had her repeat a prayer that goes like this: Jesus. Jesus. I love you. (Which she never says.) Love you. Wuv oo. Amen. A-me-ya! However, tonight I reaped the consequences of entertaining my children with fake flatulence. Her prayer went like this: JESUS! (Insert fake toot) A-me-ya!

Our oldest son went to public school for Kindergarten and 1st and then we made the big decision to start homeschooling. It has been wonderful to be in charge of our own schedule and teach our children. Now I am doing 3rd grade with him and Kindergarten with my daughter. It can be really really tough, but is also such a wonderful experience. Don't know if you've ever considered it, but it is a wonderful thing!

Have you ever thought about homeschooling? I homeschooled both my kids K-12. We were able to travel all through the year; the school calendar didn't own us at all. I know homeschoolers receive an unjust label of unsociable people which is a false rumor. I don't live in Texas, but I do know Texas is a friendly homeschool state.

Love it! I'm going to bed trying to talk myself out fear for our little ones. My 1st grader has amazing, scary faith -- She "made someone a Christian" at the lunch table not too long ago. Of course, I love her boldness but I want to keep her in the closet for her soul's sake at the same time. I need to be more like her!!

We have 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy. Our oldest daughter was in 2nd grade and our middle daughter was in kindergarten when God called us to homeschool. Now here we are 5 years later with a 6th grader, 4th grader and our son is in 1st grade. The freedom we have is an advantage to this lifestyle for sure. We plan our vacations around school schedules so we can be on vacation when everyone else is in school!!!!!

This is our 5th year being on the school calendar schedule, and this year the hubs is teaching at the USAF academy. So, we have two school schedules to contend with! While it took some time, we are making it work! Once you get into your new routine, it won't seem like such an adjustment. Am praying now for your Mama heart to feel peace over these transitions!

I LOVE it! The Good Lord created those "toots" and a sense of humor so He's probably cool with it. It's her heart that counts, right?!

And there's always homeschool. I know it gets a bad rap sometimes, but it's SUCH an outstanding blessing and there's no pesky schedule standing in your way. You would be an amazing homeschool mama! Just a thought! :)

Oh Amanda....with Gracie starting Kindergarten this year we went through exactly what you described. My husband has a crazy schedule and he gets to be home a lot during the week. We were so used to just picking up and going whenever we wanted to go to Silver Dollar City or out of town or wherever. We have had several..."Um, oh yeah, we can't go then. Gracie will be in school!" We've pulled her out a little bit early a few times to go do something, but Gracie always makes sure that I have cleared it with "Mrs. Wallace." She is very adamant about it too...so funny!

Tonight, Julia's prayer went like this "God, if you ever die on the cross again, I pray that you would forgive our sins." (I hope he doesn't have to do it all over again!! Thank you Jesus for doing it once.) :)

same story here, and oh how encouraging to hear i'm not alone in this season!! my husband (an elem school administrator) will be putting in for our five year-old's transfer requst this week so she can be at his school when she begins in the fall. this is all coming waaay too soon. i knew this day was coming, and i THOUGHT i was prepared! :0)

I didn't get to comment on the previous post, but I'm sort of de-lurking since the last time I commented was quite a while ago! I started reading your blog when babies were just a nice dream in the future... and now I'm married and have a five-month-old little lady of my own, and it makes your stories all the more enjoyable. Thanks so much for sharing life on this blog!

As a mom of 3 teenagers who would LOVE to have those kindergarten days back I can tell you - don't freak out about the school calendar, there will be so many of those days further ahead when their homework, conferences, sports, exams, placement tests and concerts WILL consume so much of your life but you still have a lot of freedom for a few more years.

There will be about 180 days of kindergarten for your son next year and not nearly enough days to spend with you on vacation or visiting family. There isn't anything that he would miss in those few hours that he couldn't learn in the car with you and certainly nothing that would hold him back.

These days go by so quickly and there are so many things of great value that are often better learned on a road trip or visiting grandparents than in a classroom.

And yes, the school calendar is a big party pooper! But you have so much to look forward to with every year as your children grow.

In about a year, I will have an empty nest! Part of me looks forward to that and the other part is wondering if we should try to adopt AGAIN (we were on a waiting list for 3 yrs and nothing!)or be foster parents. It may be just a mid-life thing for me, I don't know. I'll keep praying about it and if it's meant for us to raise another little one, I've asked God to tell Scott and let him come to me and tell me - ha!

Here I am, de-lurking. I've loved getting to know your family through your blog. I'm a huge fan of your mother's Bible studies and appreciate the help she's given me through the years via her books.

Now here's something odd. Just the other night I dreamt about Annabeth and Jackson. How crazy is that?! I've never met you and don't personally even know anyone who knows you. I woke up feeling like I was connected to your family in a greater way. Like I said, crazy!

I am still proud to call myself an MK at 41 years old, now happily married with 4 children.

Not to worry you about your schedule, but my oldest guy started kindergarten this year and it has been really tough. I love his school, his teacher, and the opportunity to be salt and light (hello, PTA and carpooling!), but making sure he's in bed at a reasonable hour and waking him up and setting limits on our afternoon/evening activities have been hard. I thought I would feel a lot of freedom with one in school and one at home, but there are ways where everything is so much more rushed. I don't plan to homeschool (unless God really clearly directs me to), but I can see how my homeschooling friends have more freedom in their schedule, and I envy them.

I can totally relate to your wistfulness about kindergarten. Our oldest started school this year and I spent most of last spring/summer being nostalgic and sad at the thought of him being "gone" from me so much of the time. Although I taught kindergarten for years before I stayed home with him, we didn't feel like homeschooling was for us so we knew he needed to go to school. I am happy to say, though, that the transition has gone very well! He loves school and I get to spend a lot of quality time with our younger child. It just makes you more mindful and grateful for the times that they are home for weekends, holidays and breaks. I cherish the times that he is home again and you will too!

Since my 4 year old won't turn 5 until summer - We aren't starting him in kindergarten until he is 6. This time next year - I will be preparing my boy for school. Wow. What happened? My husband and I are currently praying about schooling. Homeschool? Or public school? It just dawned on me that homeschooling would allow us a bit more freedom when it comes to those 'weekend trips' you mentioned. Goodness. So much to think about and pray over.

Put on the denim jumper and jump on board the homeschooling train girl! Homeschooling is so terrific. We had the same situation as you guys and decided that when dad could be home, we wanted to be able to have family time. It works out so good. If I can do it, anyone can. BTW, just kidding about the denim jumper. (: I don't own one!

I lived and worked with some HIV+ kids for four years. Well, kids will be kids...and one of them would always announce when he tooted. I replied "thank you for sharing" Well... wouldn't you know he would repeat that when someone else tooted!

I wish I'd had a blog to write all these adorable things down back when my two were itty bitty. What a hilarious prayer AB did! How many little things like that have I forgotten over the years? Maybe it's not too late to start... they're 10 and 13.

Seriously girl, one thing I do remember clearly, is the wake up call the school calendar brought. I hate it! Still do. Totally crimps our style. :)

Your posts always put a smile on my face! I just wanted to jump in and add another encouragement to prayerfully consider homeschooling (perhaps you already have!). It is not as overwhelming as you might think and (as you've probably already surmised from the previous comments) there is a wonderful supportive community to help you navigate your way :) We have found homeschooling to be a wonderful blessing to our family. My favorite aspect of homeschooling is that we are not only able to continue sharing the wonders of God with our children but we get to learn about the wonders of God’s world together as well! How delicious!

Hi Amanda - with regards to sports - are you familiar with Upward - www.upward.org - it's a Christian based sports organization that's fabulous and doesn't conflict with any church activities. They have soccer, football, basketball, and cheerleading! I just did a zip code search of 77070 and about 20 churches showed up in the list. You can search by any zip code. It's a wonderful program - totally started and inspired by God! Look them up and see if any churches are in your area that have teams. Good luck!

Too funny about the fake flatulence. you know He was laughing when he heard that. :) I too, hated to be owned by the school schedule and still do. My oldest is in the 4th grade this year and my youngest will start Kindergarten in the fall too. :( I am not ready for that. I love the summer and winter break and all the other days they are out because we can abide by our own school schedule. You are not alone!

My Gracie will start Kindergarten in the fall too, and it is so going to kick our booties. We enjoy leisurely mornings, inconsistent bedtimes, and taking off on a spur of the moment road trip/visit to Amarillo. I so identify with this post. I'm teary and hyperventilating as well.And we are also in the world of fake and real tooting, especially since my boy just turned 3 - I too am experiencing all sorts of things I never thought possible.

We had to do the same thing with sports when our kids were in sports. Wednesday nights were just non-negotiable for us. I hope you enjoy this transition into the next chapter of your family's life. It really is so much fun!! :)

Sweet girl ... you tickle me so much! Such a fun mom! I think you know I homeschool, too. And let me just say that kindergarten is the easiest grade to teach! :) I use A Beka Christian curriculum and love it. It gives us so much freedom to take off when Brian is off work. I decided to take it one year at a time ... and now I'm teaching a 7th and 5th grader. The girls have so many friends at church ... they are certainly not missing out socially. But if you decide public/Christian schools ... thank goodness it starts out slow with kindergarten; and you will transition. Be encouraged. The book, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, was the best thing I could have invested in, too. I started them on that at age 4.

I know...crazy that we have to start thinking about their school schedule and can't just be gone whenever we want. We are about to enter into a huge life changer. I think I might need a support group for this!

I'm a 'Siesta' commenting here for the first time. I'm in Northern Virginia and have three kids: 9yr old Vinny; about-to-be 6 Joey; and the princess Julianna turned 2 in mid November. Her prayers have been almost identical to AB's - only the bookends different. As in: fake toots have been in the middle of her prayers too. Classic! When my first started Kindergarten my DH and I likened it to choosing a college - it was rediculous. But God is good and our kids are flourishing. Will pray all the logistics come together beautifully and I hope to check in often on your fun blog.

Not being owned by the school calender is one reason we chose to homeschool our son for Kindergarten this year. My husband is also a minister here in Houston and weekend trips are just impossible when you can never miss church! It has been HARD with two other kiddos at home (newly 4 and a newborn), but it is worth it to be able to hit the road on a Thursday to go visit the grandparents!

2. I just realized that on my de-lurking introduction comment, I listed our friend of a friend of a friend in common as Jon Arbuckle... No- I don't actually know the guy from Garfield. I meant Justin. Oops... I'm sure you don't care, but I just had to fix it because I'm a little bit OCD.Seems as though my memory is not faring well with the hormones and sleep deprivation and everything else that mothering a 4 year old, a 2 year old, and a 4 week old entails!

Haha! Too funny! The things we do for a few moments peace come back and haunt us don't they?! By the way, I had to share with you my friend, Angela's blog. I just read a post by her called "Whiter Than Snow" that almost made me want to cry (in a good way)! angelacgifford.blogspot.com

Besides a baby, what pregnant women get in return for surrendering their waistlines is nine months of thick, glorious hair. It’s a beautiful thing. However, when Baby is just a few months old (about the time Mommy is seeing hints of her returning waistline) it all falls out. Soon her face is framed by the re-growth—lovely inch-long hairs called baby bangs. This blog is named for that charming little phenomenon.